By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Chuck D, the co-founder of Public Enemy, issued a warning during an appearance on the Black Press of America’s Let It Be Known morning show, aiming at America’s cultural disconnection, political chaos, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence and online manipulation. The legendary artist also spotlighted Public Enemy’s surprise new album, Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025, which he called a gift to longtime fans and a continuation of the group’s fight-the-power ethos. “The rock guys always seem to take care of theirs,” he said. “We created rock and roll in the first damn place, but it gets co-opted. They protect their culture. We don’t pass ours down.”
Chuck said that while touring last month with Guns N’ Roses, he saw firsthand how European audiences celebrate rock and unify around their shared identity. “They all know they’re Europeans. They had wars with each other, but they glue up together,” he said. “We got factions. And what countries do we have to back our factions?”
He continued, “Everybody on the planet Earth is saying, ‘Y’all need to be careful, you are going into that hot box.’” Public Enemy’s sixteenth studio album, released June 27 without prior announcement, was described by Chuck and Flavor Flav as “the give back.” The album was made available for free on Bandcamp for the first 72 hours and dropped in conjunction with a live performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The final track, “March Madness,” tackles gun violence and school shootings. It begins with a real 9-1-1 call from a distressed teacher. “Kids supposed to have fun, none of this run for cover for your life,” Chuck said in the song. He said the song grew out of collaboration with Flavor Flav’s team, his manager Rhiannon Ellis, and Harvard students. “We had Black shootouts in high schools in the 80s that we were trying to address, and they fell on deaf ears,” he said. “It metastasized in the 90s, and now people are desensitized.”
Chuck pointed to the commercial structure of hip-hop today, saying, “The profitability of us and our drama, that also has diminishing returns… Now we got AI. Why would we be so amazed at your non-singing ass?”
On the issue of how technology is reshaping perception, he said, “Scrolling ain’t reading. Texting ain’t writing,” he declared. “People are not tuned into listening like they were 25 years ago. Their eyes are searching like Bluetooth.” He warned that listening is now a survival skill. “If you’re not using this sense of listening and then process it, you’re going to get got.” Chuck urged Black Americans to reclaim a global mindset. “That passport will save your life and your brain,” he said. “The United States has been iso-balled. They told everybody, we’re here to protect you, and the rest of the world is bad. Don’t go nowhere, don’t think nowhere.” He said bots have infiltrated social media platforms to sow division. “There were already a million bots that got planted into the mediascape in 2015, 2016, and 2017. They were farmed to cause division,” he stated. “You got people following something that might not have even existed as a person.”
Chuck added that the new album addresses the need to teach hip-hop’s real cultural roots. “Hip hop 2025 is still the term for young Black creativity,” he remarked. “But it has to be kind of taken back, retaught, because it’s part of a 50-year culture.” “If hip hop were an Olympics,” he said, “I’m not totally sure that we’d come away with the gold in the United States.” Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 was produced by Chuck, Flavor Flav, Lorrie “The LBX” Boula, and Rhiannon Rae Ellis. It features a mix of boom bap, protest funk, and political commentary. Chuck also shared his connection to baseball legend Dave Parker, who recently died before his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “Dave Parker was one of those figures in the 70s, as me as a teenager, that I flocked to, because he was just more than playing on the field,” Chuck said. “He said from one idol to another,” referencing a signed book Parker gave him.
He urged fans not to disengage. “Sense is not common, especially not in the United States. It’s common nonsense,” he said. “If you’re not listening, you’re not comprehending. And if you’re not comprehending, you’re going to get got.”
